BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand is set to deploy rainmaking planes to seed clouds in an effort to tackle the pall of pollution that has shrouded the capital in recent weeks. The weather modification technique involves dispersing chemicals into the air to aid cloud condensation, which should in theory result in rain. “The Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation… expects the rainmaking to be done tomorrow (Tuesday) but it depends on wind and humidity […]
Tag: Pollution
Thailand to make it rain as pollution chokes Bangkok
THAILAND, Bangkok (AFP) — Thailand is set to deploy rainmaking planes to seed clouds in an effort to tackle the pall of pollution that has shrouded the capital in recent weeks. The weather modification technique involves dispersing chemicals into the air to aid cloud condensation, which should in theory result in rain. “The Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation… expects the rainmaking to be done tomorrow (Tuesday) but it depends on wind and humidity […]
India launches new bid to battle dirty air
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India has launched a new campaign to improve air quality in more than 100 of its pollution-stricken cities, although an environment group said it lacked detail and the legal backing to ensure it is enforced. Air quality in the country of more than 1.25 billion people has deteriorated to critical levels in recent years, with the capital New Delhi and 13 other Indian cities in the top 15 of a […]
Fiat Chrysler to pay $650 mn over software misuse: report
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Fiat Chrysler has agreed to pay nearly $650 million to resolve litigation over its use of illegal engine-control software on diesel vehicles that produced false results in emissions tests, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The automaker will pay $305 million in penalties to the federal government and California, which also brought suit, the NYT said, citing two unidentified sources who were briefed on the issue. It said the […]
Energy-related carbon emissions rose in US in 2018: study
PARIS, France (AFP) — Carbon dioxide emissions significantly increased in the United States in 2018, according to a study released Tuesday by research firm Rhodium Group. Analysts estimate that energy-related CO2 emissions grew 3.4 percent from 2017 to 2018, which would be the largest increase in the United States since 2010. The estimate was based on US government energy statistics and other public and private data on oil consumption and power generation for the first […]
Oil thieves cause damaging spill in Guanabara Bay
Thieves who broke into a pipeline near Rio de Janeiro to steal oil caused a four-kilometer (2.5-mile) spill of crude in waterways that is damaging mangroves and wildlife. https://youtu.be/lDZtvsKK140
India pollution watchdog fines Delhi over toxic smog
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s environmental watchdog has slapped New Delhi’s government with a $3.5 million fine for failing to enforce rules to reduce smog in the world’s most polluted major city, officials said Tuesday. The National Green Tribunal penalized the capital administration for its lack of oversight after it emerged some polluting industries were still burning harmful waste in the open. The tribunal, a national body tasked with ruling on environmental matters, […]
Greenhouse gas levels in atmosphere hit new high: UN
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the main driver of climate change, have hit a new record high, the UN said Thursday, warning that the time to act was running out. “Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth,” the head of the World Meteorological Organization Petteri Taalas said in a statement. “The window of […]
As winter comes, New Delhi gasp for clean air
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Each year around November, the Indian capital’s air quality reaches hazardous levels as cooler air traps pollutants close to the ground and farmers burn their fields across large swathes of north India. https://youtu.be/SEbDGZGuynI
Plastics have entered human food chain, study shows
by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Bits of plastic have been detected in the faeces of people in Europe, Russia and Japan, according to research claiming to show for the first time the widespread presence of plastics in the human food chain. All eight volunteers in a small pilot study were found to have passed several types of plastic, with an average of 20 micro-particles per 10 grams of stool, researchers […]
Race to clean up oil spill after cargo ships collide off Corsica
MARSEILLE, France (AFP) — French and Italian civil and military teams were working to contain a spreading oil spill in the Mediterranean Monday after a container ship collision off the island of Corsica that prompted France to launch an investigation into “maritime pollution”. The accident occurred early Sunday when a Tunisian freighter rammed into a Cyprus-based vessel anchored about 30 kilometers (20 miles) off the northern tip of the French island. The ship’s hull was […]
Hong Kong research warns of sunscreen health risks
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — New research in Hong Kong has found that UV filters commonly used in sunscreen are polluting surrounding waters and could endanger human health, one of the city’s leading universities said Thursday. An “extensive amount” of seven common UV filter chemicals was found in Hong Kong seawater as well as in fish, shrimps and mussels on aqua-farms, scientists from Hong Kong Baptist University told reporters. “The effect of these contaminants passing […]





